Poppy
by Lawmpy
Summary: A short drabble about an adorable man, Coriolanus Snow, and his lovely granddaughter.


_Poppy_

Snow retuned home late. He had been spending an increasing amount of time working, recently. And he was tired. He stumbled into his house in the City Circle. He stepped on the creak on the way to the kitchen, needing a glass of water. Even though he had every resource available to fix anything imaginable, he had grown fond of this imperfection, as well as the other signs of wear and tear he'd done to the place. His home.

He drank standing over the sink, looking out a window. Rain poured down. He watched it stream down the window in the darkness.

Suddenly a huge flash lit everything up.

He turned away and walked into another room, settling on an oversized chair. It had been a long time since there had been a heavy downpour, let alone any lightning. It was much more common when he was a child and he missed it. He thought back to a few fond memories but was soon brought back to how his life had so recently changed. He sighed. Everything was more difficult nowadays.

He was tired. And old. And in desperate need of a break. He allowed himself a yawn and closed his eyes. This would be how he would choose to go - after just having fallen asleep, listening to the rain.

Another flash.

But this one was soon followed by a creak. Snow's eyes flew open. And heard another soft creak.

"Poppy?" He turned to look at his granddaughter, just barely ten. She stood in her nightgown, rubbing her eye. He smiled and his snake eyes filled with warmth at her voice.

"Yes? Now when did you arrive? And it's well past your bedtime.' He said with great care. She was the constant reminder of how important and valuable a life was. She was his everything. Aside from power, of course. But as time went on, the simple things seemed to matter more – like family, like the crack in the floor, like the time to sit and listen to rain hitting the window. He wondered whether he sacrificed a good relationship with the little girl's mother for the sake of it.

"Mommy dropped me off a few hours ago." She stated. Snow smiled. Poppy and Mommy. Even though she had grown so big she insisted on using these names. His, particularly, made him smile and it inspired the poppies planted among a great many roses outside. He pulled her into his lap.

"And the storm has you up?" She nodded sheepishly and rested her head on his shoulder.

They stayed there for a bit. Just the two of them, listening to the storm, eyes closed.

"Tell me a story." She quietly whispered, unsure if he had fallen asleep. He looked down at her and kissed her forehead.

"What do you want to hear?"

"I dunno." She yawned. "Something sweet, but bad. Just like this thunderstorm." For such a young child, she had already taken a liking to tragedies. "Something new, but not a fairy tale." He sighed.

"Ah, alright, then. I know something you haven't heard. You know those Games that are shown every year? With people fighting until the last man is standing?" She nodded. She honestly hadn't watched the actual Games in years. She liked watching people's reaction to the games, how they figured out who had a better chance of winning, seeing what gifts people got, and the parades. But she hated seeing the death. In her mind, death was a thing for storybooks, and the Games were a bit too graphic. And who would he be to force his innocent and darling granddaughter to watch?

"Well, there once was a girl, not much older than yourself," he tapped her nose with his long and pointed index finger, "that was selected to participate. But she was so young and so well loved that her older sister volunteered to take her place. She went through all the pre-Game, wowed all of Panem in the parade, and then proved to be a spectacular player.

"She had heart, made for such a lovely show. She actually cared for people – even those who were charged with the task of taking her life. The Games reconnected her with a childhood friend from her own district. Both were selected to compete, you see. And they formed an alliance that became so very much more. These two, they looked after another. They didn't go off to win, they just worried about keeping another safe. They formed a special bond. And do you know what that is?"

"They fell in love, didn't they?"

"Why yes, yes they did. And the audience, as well as Gamemakers, were inspired by this. They fell in love with this story. So the rules were changed. And it looked as if they could both be victors. The two lovebirds prospered. The nation was completely transfixed with both the love story between them and their love of life and compassion for others."

"Poppy, what happens then? How does this turn bad?"

"Well, love, as quickly as rules can be changed, they can be changed back. Just as they had won, they were told that there would only be one victor, as always. They were expected to fight to the death. Lover against lover. In this huge climax of emotion.

"But they were smart. They both had taken poisonous berries and planned to, simultaneously, commit suicide. You see, they'd rather die by their own hand, than by someone else's rules. By someone else's game."

"And what happened? Did they die?"

"In a sense, the entire nation died." He admitted with a sigh. He figured that it would be a long time before she figured out that this story was based on a recent occurrence. One that was currently affecting life as they knew it. She would doubtful remember the tale, anyways. And it was good to keep her in touch with the world. As she neglected the digital age and clung to books, she could get so lost. It made him worry that she might be putting herself in danger.

She turned to him, "Well, that was too good of a story. Now I'm wide awake!"

Snow chuckled. "Perhaps we ought to just make some hot chocolate." She jumped up, took his hand and led him to the kitchen, where she made herself instant hot chocolate and him white rose tea.

"Come on," he said and escorted her to her bedroom. "Now, should we go back to boring old Grimm's Fairy Tales, then? Or do you want to start a novel together?" She handed him a nicely bound leather book, and climbed into her bed. He sat beside her in a wooden rocking chair and read until they both fell asleep.


End file.
